San Francisco Chronicle - June 3, 2005
Victoria Colliver, vcolliver@sfchronicle.com.

As part of the U.N. World Environment Day in San Francisco, more than 100 local companies are expected to attend a symposium today on corporate responsibility and to be asked to sign the Global Compact, a voluntary initiative that promotes social and environmental principles.

Since the agreement started with 50 companies in 2000, more than 2,000 have signed on from 80 countries.

The compact asks companies to adopt business practices that support human rights, labor standards, environmental principles and anti-corruption.

Only about 70 companies in the United States have signed on, including such Bay Area companies as Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems, Gap Inc. and Seagate Technology.

U.N. officials said they hope getting more Bay Area companies to agree to the principles will give the compact a stronger foothold in the United States.

"Management teams in the Bay Area are quite progressive with respect to environmental and social issues," said Gavin Power, senior adviser for the U.N. Global Compact.

For too long, Power said, companies have viewed corporate responsibility as a soft or feel-good issue.

In addition to the compact, the United Nations is encouraging equity analysts to consider social and environmental practices in their risk analyses of companies.

"U.S. companies have largely seen this whole corporate responsibility movement as philanthropic -- if you have a good foundation and a corporate giving department, you're OK," Power said.

"Corporate responsibility is not just what you do with your money. It's how you make it."

Companies that sign the compact agree to 10 principles such as encouraging environmentally friendly technologies, eliminating all forms of forced labor, recognizing the right to collective bargaining and making sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

While the United Nations does not directly monitor compliance, it requires firms to submit an annual progress report.

Examples of changes include the adoption of policies to protect workers with HIV and AIDS and consideration for the rights of indigenous people while exploring energy resources, Power said.

HP, which, along with the Bay Area Council and the Gap, is a sponsor of today's daylong event, signed the compact in 2002 when it was already working on a code of conduct for labor practices in the supply chain.

"It's really about treating people fairly," said Ken Larson, HP director of corporate responsibility.

"You also join a group of really progressive, responsible companies."

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